AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Governor Greg Abbott is calling on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to waive certain requirements on money the state receives from the federal government to pass on to Texans to help them pay their rent.
Gov. Abbott took the first step on Wednesday, April 1, by waiving statutes relating to HUD's HOME Investment Partnership program. Doing so would allow Texas greater flexibility to use program funds to help certain Texans pay their rent.
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs also wrote a letter to HUD, requesting federal waivers to allow Texas to "reprogram" these funds to help Texans pay rent.
If the waivers are granted, Texas will reprogram these funds to provide financial housing assistance to certain Texans enduring economic hardships related to COVID-19.
"Suspending these statutes is a crucial first step to help many Texans receive the financial assistance they need to pay their rent, and I urge HUD to grant the federal waiver requests," Gov. Abbott wrote in a statement.
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In the meantime, the Texas Apartment Association is urging people who are struggling to pay rent to make a payment plan with their property manager.
The stimulus package passed by Congress includes a 120-day moratorium on evictions by landlords with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae, HUD, Freddie Mac, the rural housing voucher program, or the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.
Those landlords also cannot charge any late fees or penalties for late payment of rent.
For renters, there are ways to get help from the government through grants.
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs receives “emergency solutions grants” which can help people who are homeless or at-risk of being homeless. The TDHCA often redistributes those grants to city and/or county agencies.
As with any grant, people must meet eligibility requirements to get them.
TDHCA spokesperson Kristina Tirloni said the process for a renter to get an emergency solutions grant can take roughly 1-2 months.
Tirloni said the “Help for Texans” section of the TDHCA website also offers grants from organizations and non-profits to help with short or long-term rent relief.
“Individuals tend to only call the organizations in their immediate vicinity,” said Tirloni. “While some of those may look like they’re out of [the area], they may run up against a certain area, boundary, or city. Call all the entities that are on there just in case you’re leaving money aside that you might be able to get.”